Guess Who Isn't Homeless?!

Warning.... this post is super long!


That's right! I finally found an apartment.  Trust me, the entire process was incredibly trying and I thought it would never end.  With lots of time, effort and most importantly prayer, I was able to find a place to call home.

I started the apartment search process online weeks ago, but in New York, apartments are rented out REALLY quickly so none of the ones I liked were available once I got here.  I spent the first couple days I was living in the hotel room making a list of towns and areas in which I would like to live.  I started calling up landlords and real estate agents in the area inquiring about properties.

For one reason or another, every single apartment I loved would be taken before I could get it.  I called a local Century 21 office inquiring about a particular apartment (at this point I have no idea which apartment it was) and spoke with the receptionist who was to put me in touch with the appropriate listing agent.

Somehow, the receptionist got the MLS # and apartment confused for another apartment, so I ended up having an appointment with the wrong listing agent regarding an apartment which was three times my budget. The first word that comes to mind when I think of this particular agent is "crazy".  I mean, I don't think she was clinically insane or anything but she definitely had an interesting and very outgoing personality.  She was exactly what I would have imagined a New York real estate agent to be.  Loud, abrasive, pushy and of course she had the THICK accent (although she told me she's from Texas... weird.  Let's hope I don't adopt the accent too after living here a while!).

She seemed to be really anxious for and in need of my business.  I say this because most agents don't really give rentals the time of day because there's not enough money in the business to make it worth their while.  She was willing to go out looking for properties with me so I spent the entire day with her looking.

She showed me SO many horrible apartments and for whatever reason she was unable to grasp exactly what I was looking for.  She was taking me all over Long Island, not in the areas I was interested in and was showing me apartments I would never consider renting.  I was getting VERY discouraged on the first day when we finally found an apartment in the newspaper which was located in Syosset.  Syosset is where Kevin lives and there are pretty much NO apartments available there.  I had pretty much written off the idea of even being able to find anything in that town, so when we found this one I was thrilled.

We made the trek to Syosset from wherever she had taken me.  I LOVED the apartment.  It was a small apartment in the back of someone's house.  That's how most of the apartments are here.. there aren't many complexes.  The homeowner was pretty weird to say the least.  I don't even know how to describe her. I called up Kevin to have him come look at the apartment and I made an offer on it.  The homeowner waited until that moment to tell me there was another offer on the apartment and that they were supposed to sign the lease the following day.

My agent and I discussed it and I made an offer slightly above what she was asking for the apartment.  The homeowner then led us to believe that the apartment would be mine pending review of my financial information.  

The next day, I met at the real estate agent's office to fill out paperwork and send over all the required financial information.  I was devastated when she called us back that day and told us that she had decided to go with the first offer and didn't feel as though it was right to go with me since they were first.

I was frustrated and my agent was FURIOUS.  She went on a bit of a tirade calling the homeowner things I will not repeat.  Wow.  I wanted to be done for the day and my agent's reaction made me want to be DONE with her.  She was inducing much more stress in the process than necessary and was making me crazy.  She pushed me into seeing more apartments that day.  All of them were awful. At the end of the day, she finally agreed to take me to a town I was actually interested in, but of course the apartment turned out to be horrible.

The drive way of the apartment was a steep hill.  We got in her SUV to leave and the gear shift would not move in order for her to put the car in reverse.  She started panicking and cursing saying that she had broken it off a couple of weeks ago and had yet to pay the mechanic for the work.  She called him up to ask what to do.  Because of her non-payment he was pretty unwilling to help her at first, but then gave her directions on how to get the car unstuck from park.

The directions were pretty simple:

• Put on the emergency brake
• Rock the car (forward) to release the weight of the vehicle from the current position
• Put the car in reverse
• Release the emergency brake
• Go on your merry little way

We get out of the car and I stand behind the car to help rock it while the agent was up front ready to put it in reverse.  She forgot one pretty important step in the process..... putting on the emergency brake.  I rocked the car and could hear something release.  I told her I thought she could probably get it to switch gears to reverse.  She then made another big mistake in this process... she put the car in reverse BEFORE getting in. 

The car started rolling down the steep driveway... quickly! I jumped out of the way but she decided to run with the car trying to jump in.  Eventually the car was moving too quickly for her to keep up with and the door knocked her to the ground.  She was within inches of being run over by the car.

Eventually, the car ran into a brick wall after knocking down a white picket fence and mailbox.  It was lodged on top of the short brick barrier.  The next thing that happened is what really put me over the edge with knowing I was going to have to "fire" her as my agent.  She then proceeded to tell me to get in the car to help her get the car off the wall.  I agreed and told her that as soon as we got it down, she needed to go talk to the homeowner.  Once we were in the car she took off and tried to leave the scene of the accident. 

Finally, I convinced her to pull over.  She was sobbing and swearing and just freaking out in general.  Luckily, a neighbor who saw her do that came up and pretty much made her go back and speak with the homeowners.  

I swear I thought I would never make it home that night and was SO relieved when the day was finally over.  I cancelled my appointments with her the following day and then sent her an email telling her I would no longer be looking for apartments with her.  She's been leaving voice mails and sending emails since but I just delete them.

The same day I fired her, I ended up finding THE apartment on my own.  I really like it a lot, and I can't wait to share pictures with all of you.  This post is long enough already, so I will save the new apartment for a later post.  I'm currently in Pennsylvania anticipating 5 inches of snow today with Kevin and his friends from college.  I'm

The Race is On

The race is on to find an apartment.  I'm in the hotel for week one, and while I love it here, I do NOT want to stay here longer than a week if possible.  Living out of suitcases and boxes isn't something I want to do long term.  I can't find anything.  Mostly, I am just really excited to get settled and find a place to call home.

We are leaving next Thursday to go to a lake house in Pennsylvania, so ideally I'd be IN an apartment by then so I can at least put my boxes in there.  Currently about half of my stuff is still in my trunk and the "necessities" are in my hotel room.

So far, I've been a little discouraged by the apartment search.  As I'm sure you'd guess, the prices are OUT OF THIS WORLD RIDICULOUS and you don't get much for your money.  That's an adjustment.  I'm trying to come to terms with the fact that for the same amount of money or more that I was paying for a MORTGAGE on a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bathroom house in Kentucky, I'll be renting a tiny studio apartment which will likely have no dishwasher and will almost definitely have no washer/dryer.

You DO get a lot given that you're in a great location, near shopping, restaurants, beaches, and within commuting distance to NYC.  So, I'm not complaining... I am just learning to accept a new reality which is so completely different than what I have known for the past 25 years.

In case you're curious.... Here are some pics of my top three so far.

Apartment #1- Small Studio:  I'm viewing this one tomorrow morning.  It's REALLY small, but the price is good and includes all utilities.  Plus, I think it's charming (minus the Spongebob pillow and clutter).

Apartment #2- Slightly bigger studio:  I'm waiting for the agent to call me back on this one.  It's a little larger than the first one, but it's still a studio.  The price includes everything except cable, so that's a plus.  This one has a little less character than the first, but it is bigger. The kicker for this one is that it has a washer/dryer.  One downside is that it has that mini-fridge instead of a full size.  As I'm writing this blog, the agent called me and unfortunately it's not available until December.  If the others don't come through I may actually just try to negotiate a monthly rate for my hotel for November and wait this one out.  We'll see.

Apartment #3:  This one is my favorite and of course the most expensive (but not by much).  It has an actual bedroom and some hardwood floors.  I think it may just be the kitchen curtains, but there's something really dainty and cute about it. I really do like the kitchen countertop and white cabinets.  It looks clean and inviting. I'm not crazy about the red accent wall, and would probably ask if I could paint it a different color.  I had red furniture for most of college and in my first house... so I'm just tired of red.

I would love to get your opinions on the top three so far.  Which of these do you like the best? And by all means... feel free to Google to your heart's content and help me find something you think is better if you think it's out there.  Huntington, NY is my preferred town, but anywhere between Huntington and Ronkonkoma near the Long Island Expressway would work.

I've Arrived!

Well, after a two day trip.. I have arrived in New York.

I began my journey around 9 AM Wednesday and said a few sad goodbyes to my family and my adorable dog. The drive was really smooth thankfully.  I got to enjoy the fall leaves in West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania the first day.  I stayed in Pennsylvania for the night and made it through New Jersey and finally to New York yesterday.

I learned some very valuable lessons on the trip here and they are: 

1. Ensure you have great brakes when driving in Maryland.. I'm not sure how it would be possible, but it seemed like I was driving downhill for about 100 miles.
2. New Jersey smells weird and the toll roads are expensive.  One toll alone was $12.50. 
3. When public workers (i.e. toll booth operators) ask you how you are doing... they get really surprised if you ask them the same.  
4. You may think your driving directions won't take you through Manhattan, but don't panic when they do.  You'll live, maybe.
5. When driving in Manhattan, BE AGGRESSIVE (B-E AGGRESSIVE).  If not, you may be run over.  
6. Always carry cash.  I've never seen so many places in my life that don't take debit cards. 
7. ALWAYS remember you get what you pay for.  When a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.  The hotel room I booked online for my first week here was a TOTAL disaster.  I have pictures (because I might have to dispute their charges to my credit card) but honestly... they might make you sick so I'm refraining from posting.
8. Get lost more often... I found some really cool places (mostly shopping) when I got lost.
9. There really are rats in the subway, big ones.  I had never seen one until last night.  

I arrived in New York yesterday after an uneventful drive.  I am proud to say that I didn't make a single wrong turn on the way here.  That part was great! I went out to get lunch after I got here and I did get a little lost then, but it was a good lost where I ended up learning the area a little better.

I met up with Kevin in the city last night and we went to see a play his friend Keith was directing.  We had so much fun and the show was really entertaining too.  It's called "Crab House: A New Musical".  It started in Australia and just opened in New York apparently.

I have failed my loyal readers and didn't take a single picture of the evening.  I promise to do better.

Crazy Life Update

I know I haven't blogged in a while... I have been really distracted with lots of crazy changes happening in my life. Tomorrow is my last day at my job with Bechtel.   I am moving to New York to start a new position with a different company.  Also, I'll be living REALLY close to Kevin, so that's really fun.  The past two weeks since I've announced that I'm moving have been incredibly bittersweet.  I've been spending a lot of time with people I love and cherishing every single minute.

I definitely am excited and a little overwhelmed but at the same time I'm sad to leave behind an incredible group of people including my family, friends, co-workers and church family. 

My goal is to use this blog as a way to keep the above-mentioned people updated on my new adventures.  I hope you'll follow along and also keep me updated on all of your lives.  I am notorious for being HORRIBLE at keeping in touch with people, even when I love them a lot, so I'm genuinely hoping to change that. 

Currently, my existence is being surrounded by boxes and stacks of things I'm not sure what to do with.  I cannot believe how much STUFF I have accumulated over the past several years.  Honestly, I'm looking forward to simplifying... getting rid of everything I don't need and starting fresh.

My last day of work is tomorrow.  I can't believe that.  I'll spend most of the day wrapping things up, turning things in, and packing up the past three years of my life.  I've been so blessed in the past few years, and I am so looking forward to the next chapter as well.

Wednesday starts my adventure.  I'll be loading up my car and making the drive to New York.  I've made a couple good CD's for the car ride (because I'm having trouble with my iTunes account and getting my music on my iPhone), so I should be halfway entertained.

The drive is about 13 hours, and I'll be spending my first week living in a hotel.  I have a list of several apartments to look at, and I'm REALLY hoping the apartment hunt is a smooth process.  Finding a place to call home is very important to me with all of the big changes I'm experiencing right now.

I hope everyone will continue reading my blog and follow along with me on the journey.  I'm so thrilled about the opportunities on the horizon, but at the time will miss you all SO MUCH.